Support bar attachment for an electric heater element

Abstract

An apparatus (10) supports an electrical heating element (H) which is mounted in an oven (O). When supplied with electricity, the element heats the oven to cook food. During an operating cycle, the heating element expands and contracts along its length. The apparatus comprises a support bar (12) including an elongate plate (16) and bracketry (14) for mounting the plate to an inner wall (T) of the oven. The support bar extends orthogonally of a longitudinal axis of the heating element when the heating element is installed. The plate has spaced openings (18), each of which is sized for a length of the heating element to be fitted in an opening. Each opening comprises a slot one end of which extends into the body of the plate for a portion of the plate to cover the slot. The other end of the slot is open to receive the heating element, the portion of the heating element received in each slot being fitted into the covered end of the slot. The segments of the heating element are constrained in the slots when the heating element heats up due to flow of electricity through the element so the segments expand only along a desired axis of the heating element.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. Apparatus supporting an electrical heating element installed in an oven and extending generally horizontally therethrough from one side of the oven to an opposite side thereof for heating the oven to bake or broil food set in the oven, the heating element expanding and contracting along its length as the heating element heats up and cools down as electrical energy is first supplied to and then later shut off from the heating element, the apparatus comprising a support bar including an elongate plate extending horizontally of said oven and means for mounting said plate from a top wall of said oven for said support bar to extend orthogonally of a longitudinal axis of said heating element when said heating element is installed in the oven, said plate having a plurality of openings formed therein each of which is generally presented in the upward vertical direction and sized for a length of said heating element to be installed in said opening for said heating element to be horizontally supported by said support bar, each said opening comprising a horizontally extending slot formed intermediate ends of said support bar with one end of said slot opening into the body of said plate from an upper surface thereof for a portion of said plate to cover said end of said slot with the other end of the slot being op en to receive said heating element, expansion of said heating element occurring as said heating element is heated due to flow of electricity therethrough the portion of said heating element received in said slot being installed in the covered end of the slot and said expansion occurring in a direction for the heating element to be constrained in said slot and for the heating element to expand away from said end of the slot which is open to receive said heating element when the heating element heats up due to flow of electricity therethrough, said heating element forming a sinuous pattern having a plurality of horizontal segments forming longitudinal reaches of the heating element with a portion of the heating element forming each of said reaches supported in one of said slots. 
     
     
       2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein one end of each of said slots extends into the body of said plate for a portion of said plate to cover said slot with the other end of the slot being open to receive said portion of said heating element segment, the portion of said heating element segment received in said slot being fitted into the covered end of the slot thereby for a portion of the heating element to be constrained in said slot. 
     
     
       3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein one-half of said slots are formed in said plate on one side of a longitudinal centerline of said heating element, when said heating element is installed in said oven, and the other half of the slots are spaced on the other side thereof. 
     
     
       4. The apparatus of claim 3 further including a second heating element installed in said oven with the first said heating element, said second heating element being coplanar with the first said heating element and said support bar supporting said second heating element in addition to the first said heating element. 
     
     
       5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said plate includes additional slots for supporting portions of said second heating element, said additional slots being correspondingly formed as the aforesaid slots. 
     
     
       6. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the height of each slot, including the covered portion thereof, corresponds to the diameter of the portion of the heating element supported in the slot, and the width of each slot is at least twice the diameter of the portion of the heating element supported in the slot. 
     
     
       7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the width of the covered portion of each slot corresponds to the diameter of the portion of the heating element supported in the slot. 
     
     
       8. A support bar supporting an electrical heating element installed in an oven and extending generally horizontally therethrough from one side of the oven to an opposite side thereof for heating the oven to cook food, the heating element having a sinuous shape and expanding and contracting along its length as the heating element heats up and cools down when electrical energy is supplied to and then shut off from the heating element, the support bar comprising an elongate plate extending horizontally of said oven and bracket means mounting said plate from a top wall of said oven, said heating element having a plurality of horizontally extending segments extending longitudinally of said oven and said support bar extending orthogonally of a longitudinal axis of said heating element, said plate having a plurality of openings formed therein each of which is generally presented in the upward vertical direction and sized for a portion of a heating element segment to be received in said opening and supported by said support bar, each said opening comprising an elongate, horizontally extending slot formed intermediate the ends of said support bar, one end of each slot opening into the body of said plate from an upper surface thereof for a portion of said plate to cover one end of said slot with the other end of the slot being open to receive said portion of said heating element segment, the height of each slot, including the covered portion thereof, corresponding to the diameter of the portion of the heating element supported in the slot, and the width of each slot being at least twice the diameter of the portion of the heating element supported in the slot, expansion of said heating element occurring as said heating element is heated due to flow of electricity therethrough the portion of said heating element segment received in each said slot being installed in the covered end of the slot and said expansion occurring in a direction for the heating element to be constrained in said slot and for the heating element to expand away from the end of said slot which is open to receive said heating element when the heating element heats up due to current flow therethrough. 
     
     
       9. The support bar of claim 8 wherein said heating element includes an electrical terminal at each end thereof, said electrical terminals being electrically connected to a circuit at a backwall of said oven, and aid bracket means includes spaced brackets attached to said plate inwardly from opposite ends of said plate to suspend said support bar from a top wall of said oven. 
     
     
       10. The support bar of claim 9 wherein a portion of said slots are formed in said plate on one side of the longitudinal centerline of said heating element, when said heating element is installed in said oven, and the remainder of the slots are spaced on the other side thereof. 
     
     
       11. The support bar of claim 9 wherein the height of each slot, including the covered portion thereof, corresponds to the diameter of the portion of the heating element supported in the slot, and the width of each slot is at least twice the diameter of the portion of the heating element supported in the slot. 
     
     
       12. The support bar of claim 9 wherein the width of the covered portion of each slot corresponds to the diameter of the portion of the heating element supported in the slot. 
     
     
       13. The support bar of claim 8 including a second heating element installed in said oven with the first said heating element, said second heating element being coplanar with the aforesaid heating element and said support bar supporting said second heating element together with the first said heating element. 
     
     
       14. The support bar of claim 13 wherein said plate includes additional slots for supporting portions of said second heating element, said additional slots being correspondingly formed as the aforesaid slots. 
     
     
       15. A support bar supporting a plurality of electrical heating elements installed in an oven for heating the oven to cook food, there being at least two heating elements and said support bar mounting said heating elements coplanar with each other, each heating element having a plurality of longitudinally extending segments which expand and contract as the heating element heats and cools, the support bar comprising an elongate plate and bracket means for mounting said plate to an inner wall of said oven, said support bar extending orthogonally of the longitudinal axes of said heating elements, said plate having a plurality of openings formed therein each of which is generally presented in the upward vertical direction and sized for a portion of said longitudinally extending segments to be received in said openings and supported by said support bar, each said opening comprising a slot one end of which extends into the body of said plate for a portion of said plate to cover one end of said slot with the other end of the slot being open to receive said portion of said segments of said heating elements, expansion of said heating element occurring as said heating element is heated due to flow of electricity therethrough, the portion of said segments received in each said slot being installed in the covered end of the slot for the heating elements to be constrained in said slots and said expansion occurring in a direction to expand away from the end of the slot which is open to receive said heating element when the heating elements heat up due to current flow through the respective elements. 
     
     
       16. The support bar of claim 15 wherein each said heating element includes an electrical terminal at each end thereof, said electrical terminals being electrically connected to a circuit at a backwall of said oven, and said bracket means includes spaced brackets attached to said plate inwardly from opposite sends of said plate to suspend said support bar from a top wall of said oven. 
     
     
       17. The support bar of claim 16 wherein the longitudinal axes of said first and second heating elements are coincident and a portion of said slots are formed in said plate on one side of the longitudinal centerline of said heating element, when said heating element is installed in said oven, and the remainder of the slots are spaced on the other side thereof. 
     
     
       18. The support bar of claim 17 wherein one said heating element is installed outwardly of the other said heating element and the respective outer slots on either end of the support bar support the longitudinally extending segments of said one heating element. 
     
     
       19. The support bar of claim 15 wherein the height of each slot, including the covered portion thereof, corresponds to the diameter of the portion of the heating element supported in the slot, the width of each slot is at least twice the diameter of the portion of the heating element supported in the slot, and the width of the covered portion of each slot corresponds to the diameter of the portion of the heating element supported in the slot.